The biggest names in British TV have been queuing up to take over Strictly Come Dancing since Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s departure, and now contender Zoe Ball has dropped the biggest hint yet that she’s got a presenting role.
The former It Takes Two host teased that she has something “glamorous” coming up, with BBC colleague Jo Whiley dropping a huge hint that it’s Strictly related.
When asked what she’ll be up to this week, Ball said on her podcast Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball: “Absolutely nothing going on my end. Nothing going on my end at all – she said suspiciously.”
“Hopefully, afterwards I’ll be able to tell you about it all, but obviously at the moment I can’t say anything about it,” she said on Wednesday (15 April).
When co-host Whiley noted that she had dyed her hair, Ball said: “I’ve had some pieces put in because I need to be glamorous for something.”
“Why would you be needing to be glamorous?” Whiley cheekily asked, with Ball responding: “Oh, you know, for doing the garden. I just caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and I’ve just been going down the shops.”
Jo Whiley then made the tongue-in-cheek comment, “Strictly gardening,” with Ball swiftly moving on.
The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment.
BBC star Ball, 55, started her presenting career on kids’ show Playdays before eventually becoming the first female host of Radio 1’s breakfast show in the Nineties. She later hosted Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show and Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream.
Ball said in January that she would “love” to host the show, but added that she had not spoken to the show’s bosses. “I will still be watching, whoever hosts,” she said, adding that Alan Carr, Amanda Holden, Rylan Clark and Vernon Kay could be strong replacements.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Just one month before, her father, Johnny Ball, appeared to confirm that she was being considered for the role. “People are coming to her, but it’s too early to say,” he said.
“I think she would love it, I think she would love the job because she took over from Claudia on It Takes Two, and if anything, she did a better job than Claudia.”
Earlier in April, Alison Hammond – who is also rumoured to be a potential replacement – backtracked on her claim that she turned down an offer to be the host of Strictly.
While she had previously told the Radio Times that she was too busy to take on the role, she later told Metro: “Do you think I would turn down Strictly if Strictly came along?
“Who would turn down Strictly? They’d be absolutely crazy. I was trying to back them off because ultimately everyone keeps putting my name in the mix and they’re ruining my chances of even getting on to Strictly, do you know what I mean?”
